Pittsburgh man and his infant he's accused of kidnapping are found in DeWitt

DeWitt, NY -- A Pittsburgh man is in custody and the 1-year-old son he is accused of abducting has been recovered after DeWitt police found the man's vehicle at a Carrier Circle-area motel.

Supplied photoRadford Pope

Radford Pope, 39, is being held without bail at the Justice Center Jail pending an extradition hearing, DeWitt police said. He was arraigned in DeWitt town court on charges from Pennsylvania of kidnapping, interference with custody of children and concealment of the whereabouts of a child.

The infant was checked by paramedics, then turned over to Onondaga County Child Protective Services, police said.

Pope, the child's non-custodial parent, was accused of abducting the baby from Pittsburgh on July 7.

DeWitt police received a complaint shortly before 11 p.m. from a citizen who said a man tried to solicit money from him at a motel near Carrier Circle, Sgt. Keith Bury said. The man told the caller he had arrived in the area with his infant son and was trying to establish himself here, Bury said.

The suspicious man apparently tried to check into that motel but left when motel employees asked him for identification, Bury said.

Police checking the complaint found Pope and the child inside Pope's car at the Super 8 motel on Old Collamer Road South, Bury said. A license plate reader in one of the patrol cars received an alert that Pole was wanted for kidnapping. Pope and the child were taken into custody without incident, he said.

"The Pittsburgh police were definitely interested in getting a hold of this fellow," Bury said.

Bury said he was told Pope did not have custodial rights to the child. The last time the child was seen in Pittsburgh was on July 7, when he was turned over to Pope's mother for a visit. Pope is suspected of having taken the child then, Bury said.

Pittsburgh police told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week that Radford Pope had taken Raymont out of state previously. They were found in August at a Los Angeles homeless shelter, the newspaper's website reported.